Author: staff
Published on 16/09/2026 – 8:01 GMT+2•Updated 11:14 On today’s special edition of Europe Today: Méabh Mc Mahon from Brussels and Maria Tadeo from Strasbourg set the stage for the day’s key announcements and themes from today’s State of the Union. Interviews with: Charles Michel, former European Council President Nicolas Herbst, MEP from the European People’s Party Bernd Lange, MEP from the Socialist & Democrats Sergei Lagodinski, MEP from the Greens/EFA Charlie Weimers, MEP from the European Conservatives & Reformists Reporting from the ground and our studio: Jorge Liboreiro with an analysis of what’s at stake for Ursula von der Leyen…
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa opened the Arab Media Summit in Dubai on Tuesday with a keynote dialogue titled “Syria of the Future”, the first appearance by a Syrian head of state at the event. Organisers say the three-day summit at Dubai World Trade Centre is the largest in its history, running more than 175 sessions with over 400 speakers from 23 countries across 8 forums. Al-Sharaa told Euronews that escalation in the region looked to be “on the way” but that states should keep calm and work together. Away from the main stage, the UAE gave its fullest account yet…
The EU is asking countries to offer at least one certified digital wallet by the end of 2026. Before the deadline, EU-funded pilot projects with 350 organisations issued over 1,500 digital credentials and completed more than 8,000 cross-border transactions. The free wallet can hold national IDs, driving licences, diplomas, health insurance, and bank details. It uses three safeguards: selective disclosure, unlikability, and issuer-blindness. Using the wallet is optional, and paper documents are still valid. The rollout is uneven across countries. Italy leads with almost 8 million monthly users. Germany plans to launch in January 2027, while the Netherlands postponed its…
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney received a standing ovation at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. MEPs rose from their seats and applauded as Carney addressed the chamber during his visit to the French city. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also raised the prospect of Canada becoming the EU’s first “associate member”, calling for closer cooperation between Canada and the bloc in areas including technology, defence and energy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a “new European heatwave plan” during her inaugural State of the Union speech on Wednesday, after a dramatic summer that saw thousands of hectares burnt and tonnes of crops lost to raging wildfires. “We need better early warning systems and better health preparedness. We need urban adaptation and cooling. And we need to support the most vulnerable,” von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg. She described the summer as a “summer of truth”, pointing to hundreds of thousands of hectares burned, crop losses and more than 35,000 excess deaths. However, the…
By Lilia Sergeeva & Euronews Published on 16/09/2026 – 16:58 GMT+2•Updated 19:21 Russia’s largest medical universities are struggling to fill hundreds of postgraduate residency places despite record applications, as new rules requiring graduates to sign advance employment contracts with regional hospitals are deterring candidates. Around 1,500 residency places remain unfilled at major medical universities, according to Russian educational outlet Mel. Moscow’s Pirogov University could not fill 289 places, while Sechenov University was short by 211. The vacancies span high-demand specialisations including anaesthesiology, intensive care, surgery and oncology. The shortfall emerged in the same admissions cycle that saw more than 591,000 applications…
The election is one of the closest in recent Swedish history, and offered voters a sharp choice between electing a new left-wing government or allowing far-right ministers into power for the first time. Swedish public broadcaster SVT called the election for Andersson’s side on Wednesday night. Her Social Democrats are Sweden’s biggest party and have enjoyed the loose support of three other opposition parties who are seen as her likely coalition partners: The Greens, the Center Party, and the Left Party. Kristersson’s conservative Moderates have been campaigning alongside the Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. His…
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday that Canada has been invited to become the first “associate member” of the EU. She announced the move during her 2026 State of the Union address in Strasbourg, to an audience including not only MEPs but also Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended her speech in the midst of a trade war with the US. Since late August, the Canadians have been pushing hard for the Europeans to build a closer relationship with them, though full EU membership is not an option as Canada is not a European state.…
Azerbaijan has warned that “revanchist forces” in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora “are still strong” and are trying to undermine the historic peace process between the former rivals. In a wide-ranging panel at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai on Wednesday, Assistant of the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev told Euronews that “probably Armenian government and Armenian leadership should work to prepare their people for the peace as well.” “Now we won the war, but we are also winning in peace which is an uphill struggle,” said Hajiyev, who is also Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the…
The location “isn’t a usual [stop] of a papal visit,” said Archbishop Philippe Ballot of Metz in an interview with French weekly Le Point. “How coherent, though, when you dig deeper. On the last day of his trip, he opens up to Europe and the world,” he added. Le Point first reported the invitations. The pope will be in France for a four-day official visit from Sept. 25 to 28 and is to meet Macron at the Elysée Palace, visit Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Unesco headquarters, where he’s expected to talk about artificial intelligence. In his first major encyclical —…